I had the opportunity on Sunday to attend the 2011 VDP-Pfalz tasting in Landau. Like all of these types of tastings (over 200 wines), it was a rush to get to all the tables that I did (in 6 hours) and talk to everyone and to taste the wines. Being ever the professional I started out tasting only red wines which for VDP Estates are almost exclusively Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder in Germany). Regrettably, I didn’t make it to every table that I wanted to (nor did I get back to every table in which I wanted to taste whites: Meßmer, Minges.) Not getting to Mosbacher, Bergdolt, Pfeffingen and the 3Bs was a great disappointment, but I drink a lot of Bergdolt anyway and Bassermann-Jordan, Bürklin-Wolf, and Von Buhl are ever-present in these parts so I shouldn’t have a problem visiting those wines. The 2010 Rieslings and Weissburgunders are showing exceptionally well. It is a high acid vintage for sure, but there is density and mineral extract and length that may never be matched again. The 2009s are standouts for red wine, though I am convinced that 2008 is the greatest Pinot Noir Vintage in Germany ever.
Bernhart
2009 ‚Kalkmergel‘ Spätburgunder
Very pretty and quite ripe –Raspberry, cinnamon spice, sweet floral aromas.
2008 Spätburgunder ‘S’ –Quite a bit spicier –tobacco, red paprika, more acid, but despite the paprika (which has an association with under-ripeness) it seems more physiologically ripe with a greater depth of flavor and a nice play between fruit and spice.
Friedrich Becker
2008 ‘Kalkgestein’ Spätburgunder
Fascinating aromas of schwarzwurzel and chicoree, Black cherries, very tertiary in a Nuits St. Georges kind of way–Spontaneous Fermentation.
2008 ‘Steinwingert’ Spätburgunder
Brighter, fresher and red fruited –Supple and sweet strawberry, and then rose petal, fine tannins –rather Cote du Beauney in the direction of Volnay (if forced to choose.)
2007 ‘Steinwingert’ Spätburgunder
A riper, fuller version of the 2008, but with more secondary development: Ash, mineral, and the strawberry goes cranberry too.
2010 Becker ‘Schweigener’ Muskateller
Good Lord. Quite a bit sweeter than the 2008, and with that, more body and slightly gaudier Muscat aromas as well. Lovely, if voluptuous, but still refreshing and very compelling though I prefer my Muskateller a good bit drier. 35g/l rs.
2009 ‘Laisser Faire’ Riesling
Simple and fruity –Pineapple, apple, melon, frankly a little soft after so many 2010s.
Siegrist
2009 Ilbesheimer Kalmit** Pinot Noir
Sweet red cherry and chalky mineral, menthol, eucalyptus, round and juicy.
2007 Leinsweiler Sonnenberg Pinot Noir GG***
Cranberry and Raspberry fruit, longer, spicier, more tannic
2003 Pinot Noir*** Barrique
Prune, raisin, gingerbread, Port-like after the others and 14,5%
Dr. Wehrheim
2007 Kastanienbusch Spätburgunder GG
Very nice. Strawberry, red Johannisbeeren, Rosewater, lighter bodied, but powerfully structured. Fine-grained Pfalz oak is part of the equation (also used by the other 4 of the Fünf Freunde, which are with Wehrheim, Münzberg,
Becker, Rebholz, and Siegrist) very nice.
Rebholz
2007 Spätburgunder ‘S’ ‘Vom Muschelkalk’
In line with the GG rules, this is in effect the 2nd wine from Im Sonnenschein. Elegantly floral, with cherry, pomegranate, very long, very mineral. I like this a lot.
2010 Riesling ‘Vom Buntsandstein’ Kabinett Trocken
Very dry -even bordering austere, cherry, citrus, grapefruit.
2010 Riesling ‘S’ Vom Buntsandstein’ Spätlese Trocken
Wonderfully lively, Granny Smith apple, very taut and fruity with lovely aromas and searing 2010 acidity.
2010 Muskateller
This is more like it. Classic Potpurri and Litchee, nutmeg, dry with snappy acidity. Good, if not quite in the M-C league for length.
Münzberg
2007 Spätburgunder Schlangenpfiff GG
Raspberry, green tea, smoke, prevalent oak and chewy tannins.
2003 Spätburgunder Schlangenpfiff GG
Sweeter, darker black cherry fruit, cola, and incense.
Meßmer
2008 Spätburgunder
Juicy and ripe, fermented in large, neutral oak barrels. A classic Pinot mélange of Strawberry, raspberry and red cassis. Straightforward and delicious.
Minges
2007 Spätburgunder Trocken ‘ZE’ Barrique
Dark Blackberry fruit and a suave, modern texture. A little molasses and savor. ZE means Zinc Erde. I am a big fan of Minges normal Spätburgunder for its simplicity and versatility, but this just tries too hard.
2010 Muskateller/Riesling Kabinett Feinherb
An 80/20 blend. Wonderful. Nice balance, lots of apricot, great Muskateller aromatics, but more of the structure and flavor of Riesling. A daring and delicious little blend that reminded me a little of the white blends one might find in Australia.
Jürgen Leiner
Son Sven Leiner is a faithful disciple of Hans Günther Schwarz, but also his own dude. He is dedicated to biodynamic growing in the Südliche Weinstraße and is among the leaders of a new generation of growers there that are making a big mark on the future of things to come in Germany. This is certainly an estate to watch.
2010 Riesling ‘Handwerk’
Apricot, peach, orange, lemon custard with nice acidity. Clear, reductively, brilliant fruit. 50% spontan.
2010 Weißer Burgunder ‘Handwerk’
Buttered Challah, Pear, round and ripe. Good. 50% spontan.
2009 Riesling Ilbesheimer Kalmit
This is very indicative of what’s coming down the pipeline from the new breed of minimalists in Germany. It is dry, but opulent, a little malo, a little caramel, tropical fruit, apricot, and lots of stuffing. Marcel Deissian. 100% Spontangärung. Impressive.
2009 Weißer Burgunder Ilbesheimer Kalmit
Cinnamon spiced pear and apple pie crust, creamy, luscious. Also 100% Spontan
2003 Calvus Mons Riesling
This was fermented in 2nd year oak at the time, which after 7+ years is integrating. The power is giving way to some rich bottle-ripe notes of toffee, caramel, and peach marmalade, but there are years ahead of this. Very interesting.
Müller-Catoir
What can I say that hasn’t been said about Müller-Catoir? It is my favorite producer in the Pfalz. No other produces wines of such extraordinary aromatic intensity all the while keeping things clean as a whistle. I know of no better wines with food. And they are my neighbor!
2010 M-C Riesling Trocken
Yummy. Apple, Pear, peach, lightly floral, nifty.
2010 Haardt Riesling Kabinett Trocken
This is one of my early favorites of the vintage. It is packed with apricot and curry and spiced orange and bamboo and with enough fruit to mimic sweetness, though of course there is little. This is simply too damn good for 10€.
2010 Bürgergarten Riesling Spätlese Trocken
Wow. Succulent peach, pineapple, sweetly fragrant, sweaty mineral, intensely aromatic and a surly, sinewy texture.
2010 M-C Weissburgunder
This is the little black-label Pinot Blanc –the only one of M-Cs wines that I really didn’t care for from the 2009 vintage as it was caught in a reductive tailspin. This year, it freaking rocks with snappy, fresh, straightforward Asian pear and honey-dew melon fruit and lip-smacking acidity.
2010 Haardt Weissburgunder Kabinett Trocken
Every bit as good as the 2009 which was a breakout Pinot Blanc vintage for MC. Chewy extract (which is a must for Pint Blanc at my house), crystalline texture –almost tannic- and pear, pear, pear, and again, nice acidity.
2009 Haardt Spätburgunder Trocken
So the scoop on this is that the old Spätburgunder (last released in 2003) was all Mariafelder clone. Looking for more depth, the MF was ripped up and there are now a few different French clones planted (Pommard 777 is featured prominently.) I liked this a lot when I tasted it a month ago, but now it is absolutely singing. Showing both more elegance and power and it now leans more blue.
A.Christmann
I have been a casual observer and sometime fan of Christmann for the past couple of vintages, but these Rieslings as a group were the VERY BEST of the tasting, and among the most exciting young rieslinge that I’ve ever tasted. Each one was like a fucking lightning bolt from the heavens, full of extract, and mineral, and insanely wild Pfalz aromas, and acid to make Tim Leary crawl home screaming. And I’m not even going to write about length, but they are freakishly long. And they are balanced, and delicious, and DRY.
None of these wines were de-acidified, all are fermented without cultured yeast additions and all are Biodynamic grown.
2009 Pfalz Spätburgunder
As far as Mittelhaardt (between Bad Dürkheim and Neustadt) Estates go, no one is better at Spätburgunder than Christmann, but the GGs can run spendy. If this is around the same price as the 2008 (18€), I’m all in. It actually seems more 2008 than many of the 2009s I tasted in that it has more phenolic ripeness and less Bigness. Elderberry mixed with strawberry, tar, tobacco, charcoal. Good.
2010 Gimmeldingen Weissburgunder Trocken
Very ripe and chewy. Stone fruit and savor and very perfumed.
2010 Pfalz Riesling
Why, Yes! Lemony, chamomile tea, dry and satisfying, loads of acidity, but far from shrill. In fact it is superbly balanced.
2010 Gimmeldingen Riesling Trocken
Tangy peach and grapefruit intoxicatingly perfumed, chewy and tingly and as long as a Sunday double-header. Delicious.
2010 Gimmeldinger Biengarten Riesling Trocken
WOTN. This is Pfalz Riesling taken to its aromatic pinnacle. Lavender, honeycomb (maybe even lavender honey), Chestnut blossoms, aloe, sage, cherry, apples, bottled electricity. The most expressive Riesling in the show (that I tasted.)
2010 Königsbacher Ölberg Riesling Trocken
Again, among the finest of the vintage, but in a different direction. This is more subtly floral, more restrained, classy, but seething and squirming below its sultry, and demure façade. More Powerful-classic Pfalz apricot fruit and seemingly less acidity 13,5% alc. YES!
2008 Idig Riesling GG
Sweet lees with almost Mosel cut, but with more body. Lemon and lime play excellently nice with the lees. Perhaps a little bit shut-down now.
Von Winning
This is the new luxury division of Dr. Deinhard. The wines are definitely impressive and sometimes great, but there seems to be need to tighten up the concept a little. I suspect that it is difficult to find an identity for this winery (much like it is for many of the famous Port houses which fall under the same parent-company), and to differentiate itself from Bassermann-Jordan and Reichsrat von Buhl (not to mention Deinhard), all with similar vineyards holdings, but all owned by the same company.
2009 Pinot Noir I
Tar, Black Cherry, Chocolate, Powerful Tannins
2010 Win Win Riesling Trocken
What a horrible fucking name. Not bad though a bit simple.
2010 ‘Drache’ Riesling Trocken
Stainless-steel (confusingly, since the Dr. Deinhard wines are supposed to be Steel, while the Von Winning wines wood cask. Delicious nevertheless.) Apple, mint, lime, taut and long.
2010 Deidesheimer Grainhübel Riesling Trocken
30% Second year oak on this. Round, soft (a little fine-tuning with deacidification) and pretty, but rather too much oak flavor for me.
2010 Forster Ungeheuer Riesling Trocken
Wow. Searingly neon Riesling that can cut on a dime and give you change. Granny Smith apple (interestingly), mint, stone, long and wickedly delicious.
Koehler-Ruprecht
Along with Müller-Catoir, KR is my favorite estate in the Pfalz but for radically different reasons. Bernd Philippi is rather the Teddy Roosevelt of the region; ruggedly individualistic, radically traditional, and adventurous to the point of danger. The wines are made entirely without use of cultured yeasts, temperature control, stainless steel, or chemical additions of any kind. The musts are very thoroughly clarified (by centrifuge –really the only technology employed in the winery) and then left to its own device. The small barrels and Barriques keep the fermentation temps low in the naturally cool cellar. The 2009s were on display today because the 2010s are and will remain in barrel until August or Semptember (rock on!) KR is also adamant about Prädikat levels (and therefore against GG) and strongly in favor of selective harvests (a method all but abandoned in the Pfalz), though it all comes out dry in the end. It should be no surprise that these wines are not for everyone. Thank God for that. The Kallstadter Saumagen vineyard (an old Roman Limestone quarry and synonymous with Koehler-Ruprecht) is one of the greatest in the Pfalz and the wines are extremely long-lived.
2009 Weissburgunder Kabinett Trocken
Crème brulee, caramel, apples, marshmallows, but with surprising definition and no lack of creamy, richness. If there are still folks who think that Pinot Blanc is eternally neutral…
2009 Kallstadter Annaberg Chardonnay Spätlese Trocken
I was making it a point not to taste any German Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay today, but I’ll make the exception here. Almond, apples, toffee, wildflowers. awesome controlled-oxidation notes. It reminds me of Meursault Les Clous from a warm vintage.
2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Kabinett Trocken 12,5%
Holy Shit. (so says my notes) Because of the texture, this could be confused with the burgundy varieties, but the intensity and cunning of Riesling shines through. GS apple, pear, sweet corn and honey.
2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spätlese Trocken 12,5%
More length and power, but essentially the same flavor components as the Kabinett. For more variation within the prädikats, I think that it helps to choose a more uneven year (as such, I am looking forward to the 2010s). This is the Prädikat too that seems to really find the best balance in its youth for KR.
-I liked this best today.
2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese Trocken 13,0%
Tasting the difference between the prädikats is fascinating. There is nothing soft or feminine about the Auslese (or really any of the wines). This is the Lawrence Taylor of Riesling. It is impressive, powerful, but surprisingly agile on its feet and its flavor hits with the intensity of a train. It ain’t pretty, and it’s probably been to jail, but even if you don’t like it, you have got to respect it. And best yet, in a couple of decades, it should have some stories to tell.
2004 Philippi Spätburgunder Tafelwein 13,0%
Lean and mean, but very good. Tea, coffee, raspberry, only slightly oxidative brickiness and shitake and firm tannins.
Philipp Kuhn
This is probably the greatest estate in Germany (certainly in the Pfalz) that you’ve never heard of. Like their more famous Laumersheim neighbors, Knipser, Philipp Kuhn is known equally well for red and white wines, though as the Burgundy varieties get as much play as Riesling here, Kuhn is very strong domestically in Germany.
2010 Laumersheimer Weisser Burgunder ‘Vom Kalksteinfels’
Sea-spray, chalky mineral, great extract, pear fruit, and full of character. Spontangärung. Quite good.
2010 Laumersheimer Grauburgunder ‘Vom Löss’
Bright tropical fruit, melon, with kung-fu grip and fine balance. Kind of a fusion style between Alsace and Alto Adige
2010 Laumersheimer Riesling ‘Alte Reben’ Trocken 13,0%
This is the 2nd wine from Mandelberg –Mango, Lemon grass, wheat, and peach. Steely acidity. Outstanding.
2008 Laumersheimer Spätburgunder ‘Vom Kalksteinfels’ Trocken
Mandelberg too. Certainly darker, deeper fruit than the pinot Noir Tradition. It is meaty, and smoky like Tirolean ham, black cherry, black berry, and cool tannin.
2008 Steinbuckel Spätburgunder GG
Dark and spicy fruit, but clouded by graphite and smoky mineral and huge tannins, huge potential, but I can get no read on this right now. Great vintage though.
Knipser
This is an Estate that I think most people have heard of, but perhaps few have tasted from. Knipser is considered by many people in Germany to be the finest Estate in the Pfalz (perhaps along with Rebholz and Müller-Catoir.) They are equally well-known for red and white, though Red wines tend to be the strength (perhaps explaining the difficulty in breaking through to the American Market.) The wines are phenomenal.
2010 Clarette Rose
(St. Laurent, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon) Beautiful salmon color, lightly fruity –strawberry, red cassis, good structure.
2010 Laumersheimer Kapellenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken 11,5%
Green apple, aloe, mint, steely acidity but not lacking in charm. Nice!
2004 ‘Halbstück’ Reserve Riesling Spätlese Trocken 12,0%
Super fresh for 2004 (I would’ve guessed 2008.) This has been fermented in Halbstück barrels (600l) for a number of years and held back for later release. It is fantastic and without even a hint of oxidation. Fresh acids, no 2004 greenness, only orange, and peach and summer flowers. Excellent!
2007 ‘Kalkmergel’ Spätburgunder Spätlese Trocken
Very fine. Kirsch, sweat, roasted meat, preiselbeeren and roses –meaty, but elegant.
2007 Kirschgarten Spätburgunder GG
This has the depth, finesse, and structure to place favorably within a tasting containing many of the worlds great Pinot Noirs. The chalky mineral brings length and a sense of purity. It has wonderful rainier cherry fruit. Subtle molasses, and beef, and charcoal flavors, and gritty tannins.
2007 Cuvee X
This is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and it was first named before Cab and Merlot were approved for planting in the Pfalz (like many European countries Germany has restrictions on what can be planted within the quality pyramid and where.) It is very convincing. Red cherry, black cassis, pomegranat, elderberry, cinnamon, tobacco, and happily, subtle oakiness. Skeptical though I was, this is very good wine.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon *** from Magnum
Merlot is becoming almost commonplace in the Pfalz, but Cabernet is still a bit of a stretch. When I tasted this and was told that it was harvested at 40 hl/ha (I would’ve thought it needed half of that to reach this kind of maturity) I was shocked. It is perfectly ripe. If tasted blind, I would assuredly say Alexander Valley Cabernet as it leans red, but there are some nice cocoa flavors floating around in the background and cooler mint and smooth, but forceful tannin. I’m almost speechless!
Cheers,
Bill
